Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Solute And Bacterial Transport Through Partially-Saturated Intact Soil Blocks, Edmund Perfect, Mark S. Coyne, Michael C. Sukop, Gerald R. Haszler, Virgil L. Quisenberry, Ligia Bejat

KWRRI Research Reports

Steady-state transport of water, chloride and bacteria was measured through intact blocks of Maury and Cecil soils, under partially saturated conditions. Major objectives were to determine if transport occurs uniformly or via preferential flow paths, and if soil physical properties could be used to predict breakthrough. The blocks were instrumented with TDR probes and mounted on a vacuum chamber containing 100 cells that collected eflluent. After each experiment the blocks were sampled for soil physical properties. The fluxes showed no spatial autocorrelation and the eflluent variance was not statistically different between soils. Less than 3% of the influent bacteria appeared …

Formulation Enhanced Transport Of A Soil Applied Herbicide, V. P. Evangelou, Louis M. Mcdonald, Sandra Prima

KWRRI Research Reports

Because pesticides are applied as formulated particles and the affinity of the active ingredient for the formulation is higher than for the bulk water, we hypothesized that a formulation complex could affect active ingredient transport. Our objectives were to investigate the nature and extent of surfactant-atrazine-clay/oxide surface interactions. When atrazine and an anionic surfactant were dried onto plain or Fe-coated sand and leached, atrazine concentrations in the initial leachate were lower in the Fe-coated sand treatment. This was likely due to an electrostatic attraction between the sand and surfactant. When a nonionic surfactant was used, atrazine concentration in the initial …

Modeling Transport Of Colloid-Bound Herbicides And Heavy Metals To Groundwater, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, R. E. Phillips, A. K. Seta

KWRRI Research Reports

Recent studies have suggested that contaminant transport to groundwater may be enhanced by association with colloidal particles. This study evaluated the role of water dispersible colloids with diverse mineralogical composition in co-transporting selected herbicides and heavy metals through intact soil columns. Colloid recovery in the eluents ranged from 45-90% for the herbicides and 10-60% for the heavy metals. The presence of colloids enhanced the transport of atrazine by 2-18%, and metolachlor by 8-30%. The corresponding increase for Cu and Zn was 2-150 and 5-30 times, respectively. For Pb, there was essentially no elution in the absence of colloids, suggesting nearly …

Groundwater Study: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Usa Georgetown, Kentucky, Gary Felton, Lyle V. A. Sendlein, Teri Dowdy, Daryl Hines

KWRRI Research Reports

An eighteen month study of the Toyota Motor Manufacturing (TMM) plant site and the surrounding area was undertaken. The basic charge for this project was to characterize the groundwater that is potentially impacted by the TMM plant site. This included occurrence, flow direction, and, if possible, velocity. Because the area is karstified (has sinkholes, springs, caves, etc.) surface water and groundwater are intimately connected and, hence, surface water was frequently an important component of this work.

Data from TMM construction plans and monitoring work done subsequent to construction were elicited from the various repositories within the TMM infrastructure. Aerial color …

Groundwater Flow And Elastoplastic Stress-Strain Model For Cohesive Soils With Application To Channel Bank Stability, Richard A. Rohlf, Billy J. Barfield, Gary K. Felton

KWRRI Research Reports

A saturated-unsaturated groundwater flow and elastoplastic stress-strain finite element model was developed for simulating the mechanical behavior of rill and gully sized channel banks. The model coupled the two-dimensional saturated-unsaturated groundwater flow equation with a plane strain formulation of the virtual work equation. The constitutive relationship used the modified Cam clay yield function. The model included the effects of seepage force and variation in soil cohesive strength due to changes in water content and void ratio. A staggered solution procedure was used in which the groundwater equation was solved first to determine seepage force and soil cohesive force, and then …

Use Of Riparian Vegetated Filter Strips To Reduce Nitrate And Fecal Contamination In Surface Water, Mark S. Coyne, Robert L. Blevins, Rebecca A. Gilfillen

KWRRI Research Reports

This research assessed fecal bacteria trapping in surface runoff by grass filters and their potential to enhance NO₃^- removal via denitrification. Grass filter strips 9.0 m long trapped over 99% of the soil in surface runoff in 1992. Fecal coliform removal was less than 75%. In 1993, 9.0 and 4.5 m grass filter strips trapped 99 and 95% of the sediment, respectively. Fecal coliform trapping efficiency was 90% in 9.0 m grass filters and 75% in 4.5 m filters. Fecal streptococci trapping efficiency was 77% in 9.0 m grass filters and only 56% in 4.5 m filters. Fecal …

Bituminous Fly Ash Release Potential Modeling And Remediation Of Arsenic, Boron And Heavy Metals, V. P. Evangelou

KWRRI Research Reports

In Kentucky, approximately 3 million tons of coal fly ash are produced annually at a disposal cost around $20 per ton. Moreover, disposal is becoming a major issue because of the ash's potential to contaminate surface and groundwater with arsenic, boron, heavy metals, etc. Knowledge on the chemistry of fly ash is essential in developing a methodology that can predict release rate(s) and concentration(s) of chemical constituents of environmental concern (pollutants). Currently, there is major concern in the state how to dispose of safely the fly ash generated from the combustion of coal by electrical generating plants. Safe disposal of …

Kinetics And Mechanisms Of Atrazine Adsorption And Desorption In Soils Under No-Till And Conventional Management, V. P. Evangelou, W. W. Witt, E. Portig, Mike Barrett

KWRRI Research Reports

Both soils (Maury silt loam and Sadler) exhibited three apparent mechanisms of atrazine adsorption. The first two mechanisms were very rapid (10 minutes) and were assigned to soil-clay surface adsorption reactions via hydrogen bonding. The quantity of atrazine involved in these two reactions for the 0.5 mg/1 solution atrazine varied, depending on the soil, from 67 μg/100 g clay to 219 μg/100 g clay. The reason there were two possible atrazine sinks in this range of atrazine adsorption was believed to be the presence of two types of reactive surfaces, the clay inorganic phase and the organic carbon phase. The …

Modeling Mass Transport In Aquifers: The Distributed Source Problem, Sergio E. Serrano

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents a new methodology to model the time and space evolution of groundwater variables in a system of aquifers when certain components of the model, such as the geohydrologic information, the boundary conditions, the magnitude and variability of the sources or physical parameters are uncertain and defined in stochastic terms. This facilitates a more realistic statistical representation of groundwater flow and groundwater pollution forecasting for either the saturated or the unsaturated zone. The method is based on applications of modern mathematics to the solution of the resulting stochastic transport equations. This procedure exhibits considerable advantages over the existing …

Hydrology And Sedimentology Of Dynamic Rill Networks Volume Ii: Hydrologic Model For Dynamic Rill Networks, Lindell E. Ormsbee, George E. Blandford, John S. Montgomery, Laura B. Terrell, Billy J. Barfield, Daniel E. Storm

KWRRI Research Reports

A comprehensive model has been developed for use in modeling the hydrologic response of rill network systems. The model, which is called HYMODRIN, is composed of both a hydrologic runoff component and a hydraulic channel routing component. The hydrologic component of the model uses a Green Ampt infiltration approach linked with a nonlinear reservoir runoff model. The channel routing component of the model is baaed on a finite element solution of the diffusion wave equations. In order to account for backwater effects the model employs a dual level iteration scheme.

The model may be used in either a stand alone …

Hydrology And Sedimentology Of Dynamic Rill Networks Volume I: Erosion Model For Dynamic Rill Networks, Daniel E. Storm, Billy J. Barfield, Lindell E. Ormsbee

KWRRI Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Potential Of Surface Water Contamination From Three Triazine Herbicides, William W. Witt, Kip W. Sander

KWRRI Research Reports

The movement of atrazine, cyanazine, and simazine from the site of application was monitored under conventional, reduced, and no-tillage conditions. Less water and soil was lost from the no-tillage and reduced tillage conditions. Conventional tillage conditions had about 66,000 L/ha runoff in 1986-87 and about 123,000 L/ha runoff in 1987-88. Seasonal rainfall was 885 mm in 1986-87 and 397 mm in 1987-88. The rainfall intensity was greater during the first two events in 1987 than the corresponding events in 1986. The first rainfall event in 1986 accounted for 91, 89, and 78% of the total seasonal loss of atrazine, cyanazine, …

Abatement Of Nitrate Pollution In Groundwater And Surface Runoff From Cropland Using Legume Cover Crops With No-Till Corn, M. Scott Smith, Jac J. Varco

KWRRI Research Reports

Agricultural practices can have a significant impact on water quality. The effects of leguminous winter cover crops on leaching of NO^-₃; from soil have been investigated in this project. Legume cover crops, by fixation of atmospheric N, can reduce the amount of fertilizer N required to produce summer grain crops. The methods initially used to evaluate cover crop effects on No; transport included suction probe lysimeters and measurement of NO^-₃; in soil samples collected to a depth of 90 cm. These measurements demonstrated extreme spatial variability in NO^-₃; distribution and water …

Modeling Erosion On Long Steep Slopes With Emphasis On The Rilling Process, Michael C. Hirschi, Billy J. Barfield, Ian D. Moore

KWRRI Research Reports

A model of soil erosion, known as KYERMO, is presented which emphasizes those processes which are important on steep slopes. Particular emphasis is placed on modeling rill development and geometry since this is the least understood process in erosion mechanics. The model requires an input rill pattern.

Rainfall inputs to the model require the use of breakpoint rainfall and kinetic energy. Surface storage is calculated based on random roughness data of Linden (1979). Infiltration is modeled by use of the two layer Green-Ampt-Mein-Larson model as proposed by Moore and Eigel (1981). Runoff is related to rainfall excess and surface storage …

Improved Methods And Guidelines For Modeling Stormwater Runoff From Surface Coal Mined Lands, Michael E. Meadows, George E. Blandford

KWRRI Research Reports

The investgations, developments and guidelines for several hydrologic modeling strategies are presented. Investigations were conducted to determine appropriate event curve numbers for surface mined disturbed watersheds; and performance of four synthetic unit hydrograph models (SCS curvilinear, SCS single triangle, Williams and TVA double triangle) on 38 USDA experimental watersheds in 14 physiographic provinces using in excess of 270 events. A second test using only the SCS curvilinear unit hydrograph on 11 small watersheds and 48 events was conducted to investigate the excess rainfall pattern simulated with the curve number model. A procedure for developing a unit hydrograph using the time …

Predicting Infiltration And Surface Runoff From Reconstructed Spoils And Soils, Larry G. Wells, Andrew D. Ward, Ronald E. Phillips

KWRRI Research Reports

A laboratory system was fabricated to measure infiltration and runoff from spoil and soil profiles constructed in rectangular bins. Construction, calibration and operation of a rainfall simulator is discussed and instrumentation used to measure transient infiltration and transmittance of water through experimental profiles is described.

Spoil and soil materials from surface mines in Eastern and Western Kentucky were transported to the laboratory and used in constructing experimental profiles in rectangular bins (0.91 x 1.83 x 1.07 m). An extensive series of infiltration experiments were conducted utilizing a rainfall simulator and soil moisture monitoring instrumentation. A dual probe gamma density gauge …

Effects Of Surface Application Of Dairy Manure On The Infiltration Rate And Quality Of Surface Runoff, Joseph L. Taraba, I. J. Ross, John D. Bottom, Bill J. Barfield

KWRRI Research Reports

Dairy manure was surface spread on 12 ft x 12 ft plots on an established fescue pasture in the summer and fall of 1981 and 1982. The soil was a Maury silt loam. A simulated rainfall was applied to plots to test the effects of nitrogen loading rate (75, 150, and 300 #N/acre) time delay between manure application and the simulated rainfall events (0, 3, 6, 24, 48, 96 hours and a 120 hour test repeated on 0 hr plot with 300 #N/acre), and type manure (semi-solid - 1981 and liquid - 1982) on the concentrations of pollutants in the …

Modeling Soil Water Contents And Their Effects On Stream Flow In Kentucky, Grant W. Thomas, Ronald E. Phillips, David E. Radcliffe, Scott Shepard

KWRRI Research Reports

Soil water contents of eight important soil series in Kentucky were measured periodically during the summer growing season for four years, 1977 through 1980. The soils divided into three groups according to their behavior. The first group (Maury and Crider) is well-drained and never showed excess water above field capacity at any time during the four seasons. The second group (Zanesville, Lowell, Calloway, Grenada and Shelbyville) showed perched water tables at times, especially during the early part of the growing season. The third group was represented by the Huntington soil which has a permanent water table.

The in-situ field capacity …

Determination Of Sediment Filtration Efficiency Of Grass Media, David T. Kao

KWRRI Research Reports

Vegetative filters serve the purpose of retarding flow. As a result the sediment carrying power of flowing water in a vegetated channel is greatly reduced and silting takes place along the section where the vegetation is planted.

The mechanism of the filtering action of real or artificial vegetation can be described by a simplified principle, in that a gross reduction of turbulent fluctuation of the fluid is involved. This in turn allows the sediment particles to settle under the force of gravity more readily. In the case of nonsubrnerged flow, solid particles may settle out even faster due to the …

Influence Of Nitrogen Fertilization On The Quality And Quantity Of Streamflow From A Forested Watershed, George B. Coltharp, Michael T. Shearer, Everett P. Springer, Robert F. Wittwer

KWRRI Research Reports

This project was designed to determine the effects of nitrogen fertilization on the quality and quantity of streamflow eminating from an eastern hardwood forest watershed. A 40.67 ha watershed, located in mountainous eastern Kentucky, was aerially fertilized in late April 1975. The forest stand was principally oak, hickory, and yellow poplar, 50 - 55 years of age and in a relatively undisturbed condition. A helicopter applied anunonium nitrate at a rate of 504 kg/ha. Because a large part of applied nitrogen fertilizer ends up in the highly mobile nitrate nitrogen.form, this is the principal ion monitored in this study. No …

Effects Of Soil Injection Of Liquid Dairy Manure On The Quality Of Surface Runoff, I. J. Ross, S. Sizemore, J. P. Bowden, C. T. Haan

KWRRI Research Reports

Liquid dairy manure has been injected on the soil contour to depths of 6 and 12 inches and applied to the surface of a Bluegrass sod and a bare tilled soil. Application rates of 9,250 gallons per acre were used. Runoff from 9-foot-square plots which were sprinkled at rates of 2.5 inches per hour on sod and 1.5 inches per hour on bare soil was collected and analyzed for various pollution parameters including COD, N, TS, TSS, pH, DO, and Fecal Coliform. The effects of pollutant yield in the runoff have been determined for various treatments.

Injection of the manure …

Response Of Saturated Sands To Cyclic Shear At Earthquake Amplitudes, Vincent P. Drnevich, John P. Jent

KWRRI Research Reports

Both quasi-static and resonant cyclic shear tests were performed on hollow cylindrical specimens of saturated sands at various densities and confining stresses. Shear moduli measured at nondestructive amplitudes were shown to be independent of frequency for the range of 0.1Hz to 50Hz. Application of cyclic shear at larger amplitudes caused effective stresses to decrease and failure. The number of cycles to failure was related to ratio of cyclic shear stress to maximum drained shear stress. Effective confining stress reduces approximately linearly with number of cycles. Shear modulus and shear damping.can be described by the Hardin-Drnevich equations if change in effective …

Laboratory Simulation Of Rainfall Erosivity For Gully Formation Study, T. Y. Kao

KWRRI Research Reports

The objective of this study was to develop a rainfall simulator, which imparts to the laboratory rainfall the more important characteristics of natural rainfall such as intensity, drop spectrum, kinetic energy, and momentum at impact, for using in soil erosion research with better results. In developing this simulator the better features of the basic types of earlier simulators, drip and nozzle, have been incorporated into this single design. The simulator developed in this study consists of a number of individual box modules placed in a rectangular pattern to form a single unit. Each module has a grid of capillary holes …

Characterization Of Water Movement Into And Through Soils During And Immediately After Rainstorms, C. T. Haan

KWRRI Research Reports

The movement of water into and through soils in the unsaturated state is basic to many water resources problems including rainfall-runoff models, ground water recharge, irrigation, drainage, evapotranspiration and the movement of pollutants in soils. This study was conducted in an effort to determine if the flow equation based on Darcy's Law and the continuity equation could be used to describe watershed infiltration and thus be incorporated into hydrologic models.

The results of the study indicate that even on apparently uniform soils there is a great deal of variability in soil water properties. Handling this variability plus the difficulty of …

The Relation Between Soil Characteristics, Water Movement And Nitrate Contamination Of Ground Water, Grant W. Thomas, Matthew Mcmahon

KWRRI Research Reports

Soils from several areas in Kentucky were placed in columns and leached with Ca(NO₃)₂. Subsoils high in iron oxide were found to retard the leaching of nitrate very significantly. In other soils, the nitrate moved through as fast as or slightly faster than the water.

Field application of nitrogen to corn was most efficient when done in the spring or summer near the time that the corn takes it up. The one exception to this was a red soil, where fall application of nitrogen resulted in little loss due to the retarding effect mentioned in the …

Location Of Solution Channels And Sinkholes At Dam Sites And Backwater Areas By Seismic Methods: Part Ii, Vincent P. Drnevich, D. Raghu

KWRRI Research Reports

Four seismic field methods and a laboratory method are used to determine shear wave propagation velocities and shear moduli for two sites. The four seismic methods are: standard seismic refraction survey, down hole shooting refraction survey, transient Rayleigh wave survey, and crosshole shooting survey. A torsional resonant column apparatus was used for the laboratory tests. The cross hole shooting method gave the best results because direct measurements were made. Criteria for using this method are given. Methods which measure compression wave velocity give inconsistent results because the conversion to shear wave velocity is very sensitive to Poisson's ratio. Laboratory tests …

Location Of Solution Channels And Sinkholes At Dam Sites And Backwater Areas By Seismic Methods: Part I, Vincent P. Drnevich, S. R. Smith, E. P. Cleveland

KWRRI Research Reports

The basic concepts associated with the sledge hammer seismic refraction survey are reviewed and a modified version called down hole shooting is discussed. The latter method has distinct advantages for rock surface profiling. These include: calibration at the end points of the survey, measurement of vertical wave propagation velocities directly, and having a refracted wave ray path for almost the entire survey length.

The down hole shooting seismic refraction survey has been simulated with the digital computer. The method can handle any shaped rock surface profile and generates corresponding travel time curves for the forward and reverse profile surveys. This …

Capillary-Diffusion And Self-Diffusion Of Liquid Water In Unsaturated Soils, Ronald E. Phillips, V. L. Quisenberry Jr.

KWRRI Research Reports

Capillary-diffusion coefficients were measured by use of inflow and outflow methods. With both methods the capillary-diffusion coefficients decreased very rapidly with decreasing water content. The lighter textured soils were found to have the higher diffusion coefficients over the entire moisture content range studied, 0 to 1 bar tension.

Self-diffusion coefficients were measured over a moisture content range from air dryness to saturation using ³H as a tracer of water. Each of the soils gave the same diffusion characteristics when the self-diffusion coefficients were expressed as a function of either water content or average number of water layers on the …

Part I - Controlling The Soil Moisture Environment Of Transpiring Plants, Part Ii - Prediction Of Leaf Temperature Under Natural Atmospheric Conditions, Charles T. Haan, Billy J. Barfield, Robert Edling

KWRRI Research Reports

Part I

A technique for controlling the soil moisture potential in the root zone of transpiring plants was developed. The method uses the principles of unsaturated flow through a porous media to develop the desired moisture potential. In the case of non-steady state transpiration, the maximum possible fluctuation in the soil moisture potential can be determined by the techniques presented.

Part II

Two implicit leaf temperature prediction equations were derived from the energy balance approach. The equations define sensible and latent heat transfer from a plant population as a two step process:

1. Transfer between the plant leaf and the canopy …